Top 5 Multifamily Transactions in Nashville
According to Yardi Matrix data, properties outside Music City limits were the most sought after in the first quarter, accounting for 57 percent of total sales volume.
Owing to a strong population influx and rapid job gains in recent years, Nashville’s multifamily market kicked off 2020 facing steady demand and rent growth outpacing the national average, according to Yardi Matrix data. Investors took note of the Music City’s strong fundamentals—transactions in the first quarter of the year totaled $521.7 million, already more than one-third of the $1.5 billion closed in the previous year. Properties outside Nashville’s city limits were in particular demand, comprising 57.1 percent of sales volume.
Despite starting out on the right foot, deal velocity is expected to fall as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. With Nashville’s position as a major tourist destination and business travel hub, the metro will likely face challenges. While nearly 70 percent of renters paid rent in April on a national level, future solvency at the local level is less certain, particularly as unemployment filings in the state continued to grow, exceeding 200,000 in the two weeks ending April 4.
The table below highlights the five largest multifamily transactions in the first three months of 2020, based on data provided by Yardi Matrix.
5. Village 21 & Belcourt Park
Village 21
GBT Realty’s $52.2 million sale of the 101-unit Village 21 and 76-unit Belcourt Park was the metro’s fifth-largest multifamily transaction in the first quarter. TriBridge Residential’s portfolio acquisition brings its Nashville holdings north of 500 units across four properties.
Village Court and Belcourt Park, located at 1620 21st Ave. and 1710 Belcourt Ave., delivered in 2017 and 2018 in the city’s Hillsboro Village neighborhood. The properties have studio and one- and two-bedroom units, with a range of amenities including fitness centers and subterranean parking.
4. Commonwealth at 31
Commonwealth at 31. Image courtesy of Hamilton Zanze
In the first quarter, Hamilton Zanze focused on Nashville’s suburban side with two major acquisitions. The smaller of the two properties, the 248-unit Commonwealth at 31, traded for $53.3 million at the end of February. The buyer secured a $30.6 million Fannie Mae loan from CBRE Capital Markets to finance the deal.
Seller Commonwealth Capital Partners had delivered the community in 2017. Located at 2880 Commonwealth Drive in Spring Hill, the asset is some 30 miles south of downtown Nashville. Hamilton Zanze plans to work with its management affiliate, Mission Rock Residential, to execute capital improvements to improve energy efficiency and update building exteriors and amenities.
3. Springfield Apartments
Springfield Apartments
Bonavic Development’s $58 million disposition of the 269-unit Springfield Apartments to Hamilton Zanze was the buyer’s largest Nashville acquisition in the first three months of 2020. Newmark Knight Frank provided the new owner with a 10-year, $39 million Fannie Mae financing package at the time of the sale.
The community is 30 miles southeast of Nashville, at 3726 Manson Pike, in the suburb of Murfreesboro. Completed in 2018, the garden-style property’s 16 buildings have one- to three-bedroom units. Amenities include a dog park, saltwater swimming pool, entertainment pub and hammock garden.
2. Mosby Cool Springs
Mosby Cool Springs
Starlight Investments’ acquisition of the 328-unit Mosby Cool Springs in Franklin marked the metro’s second-largest multifamily deal of the first quarter. Developer Middleburg Real Estate Partners traded the two-building property for $82.8 million, or more than $250,000 per unit. KeyBank provided acquisition financing to the tune of $50 million.
The luxury community at 2007 Knoll Top Lane opened in early 2019. The property’s unit mix includes one- and two-bedroom apartments. Amenities include an on-site trail system, clubhouse with a game room and event space, dog park, swimming pool and on-call massage therapist.
1. Nashboro Village
Nashboro Village. Image courtesy of Waterton
The first quarter’s largest Music City multifamily deal was Waterton’s $140 million purchase of the 994-unit Nashboro Village. Wells Fargo Bank financed the deal with three Freddie Mac loans totaling $105 million. Seller Starwood Capital Group had acquired the property in early 2017 as part of a $2.9 billion national portfolio deal from The Milestone Group.
Constructed in five phases between 1974 and 1987, Nashboro Village’s 69 acres are part of a larger, 400-acre master-planned area near U.S. Highway 41. Waterton plans to make a value-add play through improvements to the community’s 69 buildings, targeting units and common areas for renovation.
Yardi Matrix covers all multifamily properties of 50+ units in size across 133 markets in the United States. This ranking reflects transactions for properties within that sample group.
